The present invention relates to seals and more particularly to seals for use with gas turbine engines.
Gas turbine engines include airfoils, such as blades and vanes, arranged in cascade configurations. These airfoils can be arranged in compressor or turbine sections of the engine. The airfoils can include a root (e.g., dovetail shaped root) that allows retention of the airfoil in a mounting structure, such as a rotor disk having one or more blade retention slots. For instance, a single circumferential rotor disk slot or a plurality of generally axial slots can be provided for airfoil retention. Many such airfoils include platforms that define a portion of an endwall or flowpath boundary adjacent to a working portion of the airfoil. In a cascade configuration, the platforms of adjacent airfoils adjoin one another at respective matefaces. However, gaps may remain between the matefaces of adjacent blades, and fluids can leak through those gaps. Fluid leakage can include the escape of fluid from a primary flowpath, leading to undesirable pressure loss. Ladder seals positioned between compressor rotor disks and blade platforms are known as a mechanism to provide mateface gap sealing. These ladder seals help reduce leakage of fluid between adjacent blade platforms, where gaps form. These seals are generally annular in configuration and resemble a “ladder” shape, with openings through which airfoil roots can pass.
It is desired to provide an improved ladder seal system.